Rants and Raves on Espresso

Today’s post is really a series of news citations where coffee-making rivals duke it out in various venues.

First we have New York City-based BlackBook praising a rather healthy list of cafés to check out in Vancouver, BC: Vancouver: Top 10 Cups of Coffee – BlackBook. Sure, they seem to say more about waffles and string-wrapped sandwiches than they provide any details on the quality of the coffee. But what do you expect for a local entertainment e-rag?

Is everybody writing about their jones for coffee in some other continent? What follows is the Sydney Morning Herald giving Aussies a fill of respectable cafés in New York City: New York’s best coffee and cafes: baristas worth every bean. Although we’d still fly to Sydney or Vancouver long before subjecting ourselves to the coffee in New York City, Gotham City has at least elevated itself to one decent coffee shop for every three million residents … or about the same proportion as Toby Keith fans in North Korea.

Last, and most definitely least, we have perhaps one of the most anti-climactic battles in the world of coffee — Starbucks crowing over their Zagat-rated supremacy in the fast food category: Zagat votes, Starbucks gloats. Vainglory may have been cool enough to make the cut for the seven deadly sins. But when your trash-talk concerns your pecking order relative to McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts, the battle is already lost. Save your victory dance for when your competition isn’t known for their mechanically separated chicken dunked in high-fructose corn syrup.